February 1982 Julie Moss collapses 15 yards from Ironman finish line

A 2.4-mile swimming race in the sea at Kailua-kona Bay followed by a 112-mile cycling course across the Hawaiian lava desert and a 26.2-mile run at its conclusion are not the most favourable undertakings for a novice. But that is precisely the ordeal Julie Moss, a 23-year-old student at Cal Poly, chose to take on when entering the fourth staging of the Ironman Triathlon in 1982.

Moss had been captivated, she said, by the idyllic location and the attractively-sculpted physiques of the competitors when watching the 1981 race on television, and so put her name down. As a PE major, she wanted to act as her own guinea pig, writing her senior thesis on the physiological effects of the event but all her good intentions about preparation evaporated as the day to depart for the islands drew closer.

She completed two marathons, the first of which she said was “horrible”, had swum recreationally in the Pacific for most of her life and had done some training on a 10-speed bike but decided, she says, largely to wing the swimming and cycling stages.

Yet as Moss climbed off her bicycle to change for the marathon along the coast of Big Island, she found herself in first place. In her haste, when swapping her cycling gear for running kit, she broke the clasp of her bra and had to persuade a volunteer to hand hers over. She set off with a 20-minute lead over Kathleen Mccartney and seemingly maintained good progress for almost 26 miles.

Had she paid more attention to nutrition, it is likely neither she nor the event would have so quickly earned their fame. The Snickers bar she had stashed for the cycling had melted by the time she needed it and she managed to take on board only fruit. A quarter of a mile from victory, her legs gave way.

Captured perfectly by the ABC Wide World of Sports camera, Moss fell to the ground. She hauled herself back to her feet, began to walk, broke into a loose-limbed jog – veering all over the avenue like an inebriated foal – then collapsed again. Moss managed to regain her feet and stumbled along further before falling a third time. At that point, 15 yards from home, Mccartney, focusing only on the line, raced past the melee surrounding the stricken Moss and won.

“It was humiliating. It was scary.

I really wanted to lay back on the pavement and quit,” said Moss. But she did not, she rose on to her hands and knees. “It took 29 seconds to crawl to the finish line behind Kathleen and in that 29 seconds I went from thinking I’d lost the race and it was all just a big waste of time to realising that when you go that deep within yourself you listen to that voice that says don’t quit.”

When ABC broadcast the race, it overlaid the commentary and footage with the plaintive flute of Tim Weisberg’s maudlin Dion Blue as her distress played out in real time slow motion, in a cinematic montage that looks like the death of Sgt Elias in Platoon. The drama helped to turn the Ironman Triathlon from a niche pursuit into a global phenomenon and applications to take part soared in 1983.

Moss was feted, turned pro and appeared on prime-time shows including Battle of the Superstars before retiring in 1993. After a long absence, she returned to competition in age-group events, with her friend Mccartney now as her training partner, and has competed again in Kona as well as winning medals all over the world in various veteran categories.